The news that Dimarco is working separatelyin the gym, arrives as the small group of reporters gets off at the central station in Leipzig, which is bright and large, the largest in Europe, after having traveled on a smelly and slow train, five full hours to get here, in Saxony: we didn’t save money, it’s just that there isn’t high speed on this stretch, the famous German economic locomotive has also slowed down on the tracks and so we all work on our cell phones (we left the blues who, in the Iserlohn Forestthey were about to start their last training session before coming to play in the Leipzig Stadium qualification for the round of 16 against Croatia).
Darmian instead of Dimarco?
WhatsApp comes in full of a certain dark vagueness. Darmian he could take Dimarco’s place. Confirmed, perhaps, and despite everything, By Lorenzo. Still uncertainty about Jorginho And Church. We are trying to verify whether, as rumor has it, Retegui can actually play in Scamacca’s place. Raspadori attacking midfielder: is this a possibility that remains? And the rumor that Pellegrini will go to the bench? Has anyone understood if the city changed its mind during the night and if he will risk it with a three-man defence?
When they are there too many doubts, in football, during the filming of a film, in life, is never a good sign. Doubts are the best propellant to risk making mistakes. Without considering that they can trigger uncontrollable fears. In fact, to clarify: for at least three days, in the newspapers and on television talk shows we have been talking about nothing but Modric. Identikit to explain how he is, how he isn’t, and what he thinks, what he says, and how much harm he can do to us on the pitch. Now, that’s fine: he is still the emblem of Croatia and, for a long time, we all considered him the strongest midfielder on the planet. But now he is traveling towards 39 years old (he will turn 9 on September 9th), and he is well into that physical decline whereby a footballer has at most a playing time left in his legs: of course you are still Modric, even when standing still you can still invent crazy stuff and that’s why Carlo Ancelotti, in Real, at a certain point, he threw him in. So, let’s put it this way: we must respect it, great respect, but we cannot be terrified of it. No, not really. Also because, let’s face it: we might even find Modric in a team next year, these days padel tournament, in Formentera, with Ventola and Bobo Vieri.
But that’s how it goes, this eve. There’s a’leaden atmosphere. Negative? Yes, probably yes. After all, everyone – us on the train that brought us here, and also the blue troop who, having finished a light lunch, are now embarking to join us – all keep an eye on the board and do calculations, imagining the various joints, the combinations that Italy has to get through to the round: as second in the group, or among the best third-placed teams.
It’s proof that we feel deeply insecure. Indeed, to tell us a little truth: we fear that the match against Croatia could turn into a sporting martyrdom. It is clear that it undermines the depths our self-esteem it was the Spaniards. We missed badly. They humiliated us. They did a head like that. Therefore the biggest risk is that the belief has crept into the psyche of the Azzurri that they are, structurally, inadequate to make a great progress in this tournament. With a sneaky question which, more or less, is this: okay, we can also pass the turn, but then?
It must be said that the words spoken the other day by the president Gabriele Gravina they weren’t exactly a burst of enthusiasm. «You have to have confidence because this is a young team with little international experience. We need to give ours time to grow. But then, whatever the outcome, we will move forward with it the best coach that was on the market at that time and that we took” (whatever the result: President, in what sense?). And again: «Compared to other situations, there are differences in terms of experience, selectable material and availability of structures…” (yes, of course: but look, it’s you, the president of the Football Federation). «The football history of a country is not enough to have expectations» (that is, a moment, to understand: should we watch the match against Croatia or not?).
The Azzurri, meanwhile, have arrived at the stadium and are taking to the pitch for the usual reconnaissance. The glance at the stands, the width, the consistency of the lawn. Do you want to know what faces they have?
Look: they may not be a group of phenomena, but they are gods good guys. And, above all, they know that wearing the blue shirt is serious. Let’s trust.
